An elevator security system controls elevator car access to various floors by controlling the servicing of certain car calls and/or hall calls, which are only serviced at certain times or in response to actuation of a security peripheral device, such as a key or a magnetic card reader. Many times, the access for an entire group of elevators is controlled by actuation of security peripheral devices in only one elevator of the group.
The specifics of an elevator security system (i.e. which hall and/or car calls are serviced under which conditions) depend upon individual needs at a particular building, thereby necessitating the use of unique, customized security software at each site. This not only increases the initial cost of the security software, but also increases the cost and difficulty of maintaining and updating all of the elevator control software.